Forget Machines! Go with the "Good Stuff"

Stacie's Note: After my own eperience with weight training, I soooo prefer free weights to machines, so I thought thisd article was cool.

The Machine Myth... Get Kids OFF Those Machines!

Brian Grasso is the CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association and is considered one of the premier authorities on youth athletic development in the world. Access Brian's free database of articles and exercises at Developing Athletics.

Whenever I come into contact with a coach or trainer who preaches the virtues of machine-based strength training for young athletes, the same argument is typically offered – machines are safer for kids because they eliminate the dangerous aspects of traditional free weight training. This is simply a dogmatic mindset and not founded on any scientific or functional principles. It is a classic case of blaming the exercise or activity rather than the execution. In fact, having young athletes train on machines for strength development can actually lead to injuries and a whole host of other concerning factors.

All sports are dynamic and require a great deal of systemic strength and stability to perform. More over, the strength/stability interplay needed to perform virtually any sporting activity is based on the body (or its parts) working as a unit, the way nature intended. By isolating certain muscle groups via machine-based training, you are eliminating the body’s natural capacity to provide both mobility and stability in an interrelated manner. This can essentially limit a young athlete’s ability to effectively produce force on the field of play while at the same time providing stability in other crucial areas of the body. By disturbing this innate mobility/stability balance, you are decreasing the ability of the body to protect itself during the dynamic and unscripted movements experienced during a sporting event. Coaches and trainers who incorporate machine-based training into the routines of young athletes in order to promote weight room safety are, in essence, increasing the risk of injury on the field of play. One of the primary goals of a sound strength and conditioning program is to prevent injuries during a sporting event or season – Coaches and trainers who insist on using machines for training purposes are then suggesting that trading sport safety for weight room safety is somehow a good deal.

Here is a look at some of the finer points of machine training –

• Seated vertical pressing machines place a great deal of stress on the lumbar spine - More so than standing vertical pressing exercises. In fact, many young athletes, in an attempt to press as much weight as possible, will actively hyperextend the lower lumbar in order to gain extra leverage.

• Seated leg press machines do not afford backrests that equal the natural curvatures of the spine. Additionally, many young athletes tend to overload seated leg presses with extreme amounts of weight (likely because they perceive the exercise to be ‘safe’). At increased loads during the eccentric or lowering phase of the movement, the lower lumbar will go through a forced flexion. This is a terribly unstable position for one’s lower back to be in and could result in anything from minor to severe injury.

• Hack squat machines can place a great deal of anterior shearing forces on the knee joint. Also, they tend to work primarily the quadriceps muscles and are less effective at training the critical hip extensor muscles of the posterior chain.

• Hip abduction and adduction machines allow minor to excessive spinal rotation during the movement. Here is a perfect example of the mobility/stability interplay factor that I suggested above – as you try to isolate a hip abduction exercise, for example, you will naturally ‘shift’ away from the leg in motion and experience a slight to severe degree of spinal rotation. Due to the body’s natural habits of motion, it is impossible to isolate a movement or muscle without experiencing stabilization dynamics in other parts of the body.

• Smith machines allow for vertical motion only, which is contraindicated in exercises such as the squat (an exercise that many young athletes perform on the Smith machine; again likely due to perceived ‘safety’). In good squatting form, there should be a natural forward lean while the hips are pushing back (do not misinterpret that for me suggesting that young athletes should bend or lean forward during the eccentric or lowering phase of this exercise). This allows one to maintain a sound neutral lumbar spine position and actively generate force from the powerful hip extensor muscles. With Smith machines, this natural and safe motion is eliminated completely and lumbar flexion is promoted.

• In many cases, coaches and trainers use machines in a circuit type fashion and route several young athletes at a time through a machine-to-machine type routine. Whenever young athletes are working on timed events (i.e. the coach allows for 20 – 40 seconds at each station) you can likely be assured that the athlete is attempting to get as many ‘high intensity’ reps out of his/her set as possible; often at the complete disregard of their execution. With machine or free weight strength training, perfect execution is a must – in a sense that makes machines and free weights equal in this argument. Having said that, the very unnatural nature of machines make them even more of a concern from a biomechanical safety perspective with respect to ‘timed’ training sessions or sets.

Functionality in both sport and life is based on healthy movement, certainly not isolation. In that, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) plays a vital role. Often noted as a type of stretching exercise, PNF is actually a diverse and intensive concept that involves movement-based stimulus following spiral or diagonal motions (to reflect that oblique nature of most muscle orientations), with the primary goal of developing motor learning through precise movements. Having said that, machine-based strength training, with its isolated format, is simply not functionally similar to innate patterns of motion that a young athlete would use on the field of play and is quite disruptive to basic physiological factors of movement such as normal timing (which refers to the naturally occurring timing of the phases of movement during a given motion).

Even with cardiovascular training, it is less than optimally productive to have young athletes use either the stationary bikes or treadmills found in most health clubs. Possessing optimal speed, agility or any other reactive locomotor ability is based largely on hip and trunk flexibility and strength. Both cycling and treadmill running serve to limit hip range of motion and can cause decreases in the dynamic flexibility within the hip complex. Young athletes are better served to incorporate rigorous sprinting or movement-base interval training (such as Fartlek) into their training routines.

Learn more about Brian's complete system of developing young athletes - www.CompleteAthleteDevelopment.com

Sports Specialization and Injuries

Many parents and coaches fall into the trap of believing that kids have to concentrate on only one sport to keep up with the best. I do suppose there are a few situations where that may be true and they are mentioned in an article I read about youth athletes.

However, playing more than one sport has it's benefits, even for those striving for that college scholarship. College coaches love "athletes" and being able to play more than one sport shows that you have the coordination, speed, and agility to do more than just play first base. Playing mulitple sports may also help prevent overuse injuries as well. Overuse injuries has risen substantially in the past 15 years.

Do not make the mistake of pushing your players/child(ren) too hard too often. Playing too hard too often can cause some serious damage and, in some cases, end softball careers far before college is even a reality. Click here to read the article that will tell you just how much overuse injuries have risen in the past 15 years.

Your Dynamic Warm-Up Guide is Ready

The Dynamic Warm-Up resource I told you about in this other post took a little longer to go live than originally thought.  However, I did receive word that it IS ready now!  

You've probably heard about Dynamic Warm-Up or Dynamic Stretching before.  It's the type of warm up that's known to be MORE effective at preventing injuries than the good ol' static stretch.  Also, it's been known to increase speed, power, and agility for game time.  Static stretching, on the other hand, has shown to REDUCE speed and power.

If you're looking to make the switch to Dynamic Warm-Up, but aren't sure how, Marc Dagenais' new Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball will give you all the information you need to help you deliver awesome softball performances AND keep you injury free.  

Marc also addresses the very important shoulder and arm area that many other resources tend to leave out.  If you google Dynamic Warm-Up you'll probably be able to find many examples of exercises to do.  However, most will NOT cover the shoulder/arm area that is so key in softball.  This is because most of the freebie resources our there are geared toward, or done by, people involved in "lower body" sports like basketball, soccer, or football where throwing isn't a big a major part of the sport.  Preventing shoulder and arm injuries, however, is super important in fastpitch softball and Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball will show you the exact warm-up exercises to do to properly warm up the shoulder/arm area and get it ready for top performance.  

If you've ever wanted specific instructions and demonstrations on exactly what warm-up exercises to do (and what order to do them in) for best softball performance, help is here.  You'll also find out how to properly use static stretching in your training since it does have it's place.  Learn how to enhance performance with effective warm-up, reduce injuries, and use the techniques that the best players in the world are using to prepare for game time.  All the information you need is available to you, click here to get it.

More Hustle and Guts Needed

Just sharing a few thoughts I had after this summers tournaments were over. 

Those on the AAF mailing list probably already read this, but if not, here it is again.

ALWAYS hustle down the line after you hit the ball, NO MATTER WHAT.

However you hit the ball, strong or weak, fair or foul ALWAYS,
ALWAYS, ALWAYS hustle down the line.

Hustle is your second weapon in an at bat. First, you hit the ball,
then you RUN like heck!

The defense needs to first defend your hit THEN beat out your
hustle. Your first strike is the hit you put on the ball, you
"attack" again by running your FASTEST to put as much pressure as
you possibly can on the defense AND to make them PAY if they make a
mistake.

I saw too many girls, including my own daughter, slow down before
first base. Granted some of them were already out by the time they
were within a few steps of the base, but I believe all players
should run all hits out at their best speed no matter what. If
they're able to slow down and stop before the base on a ground out
to the left side, they probably weren't running their hardest.
Some are slowing down before the bag and are only out by a step or
two, that's just not the way to play. Imagine if these players had
been hustling down the line, they could have rushed a throw, they
could have shaken up the 1b to possibly mishandle the ball because
they were right there - you never know, RUN LIKE HECK after you hit
the ball.

Then there was another situation when a girl popped up soooooo
high, she should have been standing on 2nd when the ball popped out
of the SS glove. Instead, she's dogging it and almost gets caught
in a pickle between 1st and 2nd because she wasn't going hard. She
was just trotted around 1st and then, bam, the ball pops out of the
SS glove and now she's in no man's land between bases not even at
top speed. Seriously, she would have made 2nd easy if she had run
as hard as possible from the get go. She hurt her team by giving
less than her best. I didn't stay at that field to see what
happened after that, but it's quite possible that her team had to
give up an out to move her to 2nd, a base she could have had "free"
if only she gave her best effort after her mis-hit rather than
pouted and felt sorry for herself. Team players, and players
giving their best effort, never give up on a hit. If you're giving
up on hits, if you have players that are, it's time do to a self
check and step up your game because you're selling yourself short.

I recently received an e-mail from Tom Hanson and he talked about this very issue.
Here's something he reported from an MLB game...

"I loved that he pulled Upton (after he'd run out to his OF
position...ouch) for not hustling on a play.

Even with Longoria and Crawford out he pulls arguably his most
talented remaining player for not running out a ball."

Apparently, even pros need do to self checks every once in a while,
so don't beat yourself up over it if that's you. Just make the
adjustment and get better.

AND....more coaches need to have the guts to reward those who do
play all out and sit those who don't. You're not doing a player
any favors by rewarding them with playing time (or anything else)
when they play and practice selfishly (showing up to practice when
and if they feel like it, walking on the field, doing drills half
way, etc, etc, etc). You're only asking for trouble because the
ones who only go all out when they feel like it will continue on
that path, and those who do go hard all the time (and never get
rewarded for it) will start playing like the others - only going
"all out" sometimes. Next thing you know, your whole team is
playing selfish, "go hard only when I feel like it" softball.
You'll have far bigger problems than you started off with and
you'll wish your only issue was having to play a game or two with
your "stud" on the bench and "less talented/big hearted" on the
field.

If coaches can do it (sit "studs") in the major leagues where jobs
depend on success and wins and losses, then you can do it too.
Telling your players that they should give their best all the time
and backing that message up with your actions are two different
things. But if you can create an environment where your players
know that nothing less than their best is acceptable and nothing
less than their best will be tolerated, your season will be filled
with much less headache. However, that will never happen if you
continue to reward the "slackers" and the "it's all about me"
attitudes. The rules have to be the same across the board -
consistency is key. You can't have one reward/punishment for some
players and another for other players. Be fair, be consistent,
back up your words with actions, and you'll have much more success.

Here's to having the guts to "honor the game."

Are You in the 21st Stretching Century?

I recently received an e-mail from Marc Dagenais as part the softball performance tips he gives out in his free newsletter.  This one was about dynamic stretching.

Now I have to admit, the first time I heard about this, I thought it was just some quack "trend" that would be forgotten about after a few months.  After all, I'd been doing static stretching all my life too.  But the more I learn about it, the more it makes sense and the more convinced I am that it's the best thing for fastpitch softball.  

Of course, not everyone is so open-minded.  Here's an ecerpt from Marc's e-mail that illustrates eactly that point and also gives you doubters something to think about.

"There's a coach that I've known quite a few years who reads my emails that came up to me to tell me that all the hype around all that "dynamic stuff" is just B.S. and he doesn't believe in that $&*@.

Now, I know this coach, it's not surprising coming from him. He's very opinionated, close-minded, believes he's always right and when he's not happy with how things are going, he yells and gets mad.

Just as a curiosity, I asked him: "Why do you believe that dynamic warm-ups is just a bunch of B.S.?"

He answered that he's been using static stretching for 25 years for himself and with all the teams he's coached and he never had any problems.

I replied: "So, if my 83-year old grandma has been a smoker all her life and is still healthy today, I must assume that smoking is good for me right?" (interesting perspective huh?)

You should have seen the look on his face. I think he got my point and didn't really know what to reply to this twisted logic. He mumbled something and left.

My point is this: we are creature of habits and habits are hard to change.

We are comfortable with routines and we hate change.

Trying to come up with a new way to warm-up is not always easy.

Athletes will say: "I don't feel like I've stretched".

The purpose of a warm-up is not to feel like you've stretched (which you get with static stretching), it's to make the muscle ready to perform and prevent injuries.

They muscles must be warmed, have adequate range of motion, and be ready to fire. Dynamic warm-ups accomplish that.

Some coaches will say: "I've used your stuff and I have an athlete that blew her knee out. Your stuff doesn't work."

First, it's not my stuff. It's just what almost every elite strength and conditioning coach and athletes now used to prepare themselves and while it helps decrease injuries, there will always be injuries in sports!

Bottom line, just because you've been doing something fora long time without problem doesn't mean there isn't a better way of doing it.

Watch out for Thursday, I'll release my brand new Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball System.

You don't want to miss that."

Hey Thursday is tomorrow!  One thing that's tough about making the switch to Dynamic Warm-Ups is knowing what to incorporate.  

• What exercises should your players be doing instead of the good old static stretch?  
  
• What order should these exercises be done in for optimal effectiveness?
  

Well, when I was learning, basically what I did was watch other teams that used dynamic warm-ups (DI schools and the USA National Team).  I took ideas from that and put it together to use for the teams I work with.  

If you don't have that luxury, however, OR if  you want a more complete set of instructions on exactly how to incorporate dynamic warm-up into your softball training, Marc's Dynamic Warm Up for Softball System will give you all of that PLUS he'll tell you how to properly use static stretching because it does have it's place too.  Be on the lookout for this brand new Dynamic Warm-Up for Softball resource tomorrow - Thursday!

Time to Try Something New

Now that the fast pace of the season has passed, I have a little more time in my schedule!  You may too.  The great thing about this is that I now have time to learn new things and think about implementing them for the next season.  Sometimes its tough to change your ways and start something new "mid-stream" so now that things have calmed down a bit, it's a good time to learn and plan changes.

One thing I really struggled with this year was nutrition.  We were sooooo super busy that I simply did not have the time to prepare meals each day.  Often times we found ourselves eating out, eating fast food, or eating packaged food.  Because of the time challenge and the fact that I know my family wasn't eating as healthy as we could be I began looking into juicing.  I believe that juicing is a great way to pack much need nutrients into our busy softball days.  

Of course, I'd heard of juicing before, but never really gave it much thought until I actually got to try it.  That's when I got serious about learning more because I actually LIKED the first fresh juice I ever made and tried.  So if you're looking for a simple, great tasting way to get some healthy nutrients into your day, I've put together a site to help you with that.  Check out www.fastpitchjuicing.com - I'm also working on a more comprehensive juicing guide for fastpitch juicing newbies like you and me.  Sign up for my free What Juice Can Do For You report and you'll receive a notice when the juicing guide is ready.

Like I said, it's not always easy to try something new and implement it when your slammed with practices and tournaments and everything else.  But now would be a good time to give something new a try and see if it's something you'll want to work into your daily routine next year.

Oh, and one more thing.  During the season I wrote down a bunch of nutrition questions that I had as it relates to fastpitch softball.  Then I got them answered by an expert in the field...and YES, those questions and answers plus some other tips on nutrition and how it relates to your softball performance will all be available to you.  More on that when everything gets put together for you.  For now, go check out Fastpitch Juicing.

Labor Day Special Ends Today

A few days ago in another post, I mentioned my Labor Day special offer for the Coach of Action Academy.  In celebration of this holiday weekend, I offered you a special 50% off price for the Coach of Action program.  

Obviously, this offer won't last.  In fact, when this day is over, so is the special offer. 

Remember, the Coach of Action Academy is designed to help you:

• Be active in increasing your coaching knowledge
  
• Overcome the uncertainty that comes with change
  
• Utilize simple tips and strategies for APPLYING the new knowledge you gain
  
• Develop or improve your vision for your program and for yourself as a coach
  
• Set effective goals
  
• Identify your BIGGEST coaching goals 
  
• Develop a solid plan of ACTION for achieving your big goals through a simple yet powerful 5-step goal setting process
  

Oh yeah, and one more thing I didn't mention on Friday, Join Now and you'll also get FREE access to my Private Coaching Program ($29/month value).  

That's right, for a VERY LIMITED TIME only, I'm offering current Coach of Action members FREE Access to my Private Coaching Program which gives you one-on-one personal guidance through the course.  

Let me tell you, this is the last time you'll see an offer like this for Coach of Action.  Don't wait,  Join Today before the offer ends.  

Winning is Over-Rated

You've probably heard the saying, "Winning isn't everything. It's the ONLY thing." Honestly, I've never cared much for it. It may sound good as a "slogan" and it may be motivating to some and look cool on t-shirts and stuff. But the truth is, it's totally and completely FALSE.  You may or may not agree with me, but in my world, that saying just never really connected with me for a number of reasons. I was reminded of why I feel this way over the course of this softball year.

IF winning truly was everything OR the "only" thing then, technically, there would be no gripes and no grumbles when a championship was won.  Everyone that had anything to do with the championship team (parent, fan, player, coach) would be utterly and completely happy and overjoyed if winning really was the ONLY thing. No one on a championship team would ever have any sort of ill feeling or complaint about anything related to the team or the season or the coaching or the players or the organization as a whole if winning was the ONLY thing. But that's simply not the case.

Even when a team wins a championship there are times when players or parents are not completely happy and satisfied with how the season/tournament went. Why?  No, it's not because they're cry babies (although some may be).  It's usually because they are HUMAN and because THERE IS MORE TO THIS GAME, TO THIS EXPERIENCE, THAN WINNING!

Don't get me wrong. Winning is great! Championships are awesome!  Any time I step on the field I'm out there to out-do my opponent and come out on top. But these things are not the end all/be all of participating in this sport. 

I'm sure you'll run into coaches or parents or players who've had "successful" seasons tainted by something that happened during the season (the way a situation was handled, the way the players were treated, the way the coaches acted, the lack or organization of the season, etc, etc, etc).  You will probably also meet people from time to time who will tell you that they've experienced a higher level of enjoyment and fulfillment in seasons where their record wasn't necessarily the best. If winning where "everything" OR the "only thing" that wouldn't be possible, it would never be true. But it is. Maybe not always, but it certainly is true and does happen on occasion.......because in this game, in any sport, in life....winning is NOT everything NOR is it the only thing.

When all is said and done, I wouldn't want people to remember me only for the championships I've been a part of, but hopefully also for positive qualities like integrity, honesty, determination, inspiration, etc.  In fact, if they could know me for either championships OR those positive qualities - I would want them to remember me for having those positive qualities. If I had to choose between being known as a coach with those positive qualities and no championships OR a coach with championships and but little integrity, little honesty, and little inspiration - I don't think I have to tell you which scenario I'd choose. What a shame it would be to be known for a championship or two and nothing else.

Winning isn't everything nor is it the only thing.  However, many have reminded me that while winning isn't everything, expecting to win and striving for perfection is.

What do you think?  Leave me a comment below and share your thoughts.

*NOTE: Yes, you may reprint this article.  Simply credit the author (Stacie Mahoe) and provide an active link (if posted online) either back to this post or to www.AllAboutFastpitch.com.

Are You Still Doing the Same Old Thing?

How many times have you seen great new drills or head cool new tips from other coaches?  It probably happens a number of time throughout each season.  As coaches, we always try to stay up to date with the latest training techniques and drills.  But how many of us actually use the new information we acquire?  How many times have you seen those cool new ideas, then 6 months down the road, nothing has changed.  Your practices are the same, your game strategies are the same, and you're still dealing with the same problems you had 6 months ago.  This is one of the biggest and the most common coaching mistake made!  

Hey, change can be scary, but if you never change you will NEVER improve!

In order to improve, change is necessary, and change requires ACTION.

It's wonderful to be a life long learner, but what's even better is actually APPLYING all that new knowledge you put into your brain!

Coach of Action is designed to help you

• Be active in increasing your coaching knowledge
  
• Overcome the uncertainty that comes with change
  
• Utilize simple tips and strategies for APPLYING the new knowledge you gain
  
• Develop or improve your vision for your program and for yourself as a coach
  
• Set effective goals
  
• Identify your BIGGEST coaching goals 
  
• Develop a solid plan of ACTION for achieving your big goals through a simple yet powerful 5-step goal setting process

But we're not going to just throw all this great information at you and leave you to sort through it and digest on your own.  We've broken it all down into manageable, bite-size pieces so that you can completely understand the concepts (and begin applying them) before another lesson is sent to you to digest.  

You'll practically be spoon fed all of the material so that you won't be overwhelmed with too many new ideas, strategies, and tips at once.  Remember, the whole idea is that you TAKE ACTION and sometimes with too much information you just don't know where to start, so you end up doing nothing at all.  Coach of Action is designed to give you only what you can handle AND we also give you specific instructions on how to actually USE the information covered in each lesson. 

If this is the kind of step-by-step, long-term help your looking for as a coach, then check out CoachofAction.com for more information.

Go, now and I have a little something special waiting for you ~ through LABOR DAY ONLY, get 50% off the regular price.  

Yup, you can have full access to the entire program at half the cost.  But when the Labor Day holiday is over, this offer will be gone!  Get it HERE.

How to Stand Out at Tryouts

I have to admit, tryouts don't happen here in Hawaii like they do on the mainland US at this time of year.  Most girls only have to tryout for school teams.  I've only had to tryout for a team twice in my entire lifetime.  Once for our intermediate school team and once for my varsity high school team.  That's about it.  There aren't a lot of travel/ASA teams that hold "tryouts."  The tryouts we hold for school teams don't seem to be as big a deal or as intimidating as travel ball tryouts happening around this time in the mainland US.  Plus for school ball we get to hang on to girls for over a month and see them play in a number of preseason game situations before we ever have to make a decision.  So players have much more opportunity to show what they're made of and coaches have a lot more time to evaluate than in the typical "travel ball" situation.  

Because of this, I don't usually have a lot of input to contribute when coaches or players ask for tips for tryouts.  Lucky for you, I'm not the ONLY softball "go-to" on the internet.

Marc over at Softball Performance has just put together an awesome new resource for players who want to make a HUGE impression at tryouts.  

If it's that time of year for you and you want to have a game plan for standing out in the crowd at your tryouts, Marc tells you how to:

• Be super confident and perform when it counts
  
• Crush the ball when you have a chance to show off your hitting
  
• What coaches are looking for when they evaluate players
  
• Exactly what to eat so your body can perform at it's best
  
• Deliver your best tryout performance ever
  
• and a whole bunch more

Imagine how you'll feel when the coach selects YOU to be on the team!  Get prepared because you know what they say, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

Make sure you're READY for your tryouts.  Be the head-turning player coaches can't help but remember.  The blue print for your tryout success all laid out for you - get it HERE.

More Fastpitch Videos at Fastpitch World

I've put up some of the Sportskool videos up at www.MyFastpitchWorld.com. However, those aren't the ONLY fastpitch videos there. Other members have uploaded videos with useful information as well. These videos are all free to view and becoming a member at www.MyFastpitchWorld.com is also free.

One of my favorites is the one I just added on fielding (from sportskool).

Some of you may know how I feel about doing the "alligator." The long and short of it is that I don't care for it. The reason is because of the very issue Mike Candrea warns against in the video - improper positioning of the throwing hand.
I've seen TOO many young player jam their throwing hand fingers because they aren't getting their hand into the correct position for this technique.

Of course, after voicing my opinion and saying that I use a different technique, I've had people ask me what the alternative is. Needless to say, it's not always easy to put softball techniques into words. Sooooo, the reason I like this video is because it shows the "other" technique which is the one I, personally, prefer. It's not more "right" it's just my preference. Like I said, I just see too many not using the proper hand positioning for "securing the ball" with the "alligator." Many players DO use this technique with success (as you will see in this video I've added to Fastpitch World), but if you do use it, or if you do teach it - make sure to emphasize proper positioning of the throwing hand!!!!

Actually, if you look at the picture I found to include here - this is an example of the fielder who is NOT doing the "alligator." Her hands do not form the top and bottom jaw of an "alligator" getting ready to chomp on the ball.

Cool Fastpitch Videos at SPORTSKOOL

Thanks to a Fastpitch World member for giving me the headsup on this website. So far, I've only watched the baserunning video, but there is some GOOD stuff there. If you want information, with a visual video to go along, about pitching, catching, fielding, and more, you have to take a look at this website.

CLICK HERE to go to the page of softball instructional videos.

This link will take you straight to the pitching video.

I hope you enjoy these. Oh yeah, did I mention that it's Mike Candrea and members of the USA National Team that are doing the instructing/demonstration in these videos?

New Freebie on Goal Setting in the Works

Hi, just stopping in to let you know that I'm working on a new resource on goal setting. It's called Avoid These 7 Costly Goal Setting Mistakes.

Not only will I share these 7 goal setting mistakes that I see many people make, I'm also going to share:

• Why Goal Setting is important
• How Goal Setting can help you
• Simple tips that will make you more effective at reaching your goals
  
• How to Avoid the 7 Common and Costly Mistakes in Mention in this resource

I hope to have this resource done by the end of August if not sooner, so I'll keep you updated on it's progress. The information will be in both audio and pdf format. I can get the audio part done quickly, but turning that into a written file is the part that I'm unsure of as far as how long it will take to be completed.

At any rate, stay tuned here or get on my mailing list and I'll keep you updated!

Practice Canceled, Look on the Bright Side

Softball practice for my daughter got canceled today...during the summer, in Hawaii, on the dry side of the island - go figure. It is, what it is, and we're making the MOST of it! Plus, breaks are good every now and then.

This practice cancellation is giving us time to watch a BluRay movie we bought over the weekend together as a family. It's also giving me a chance to prepare a home cooked meal for my family! That's rare these days with everything we have going on, but I'm looking forward to eating Beef Stew on this day of canceled practice!

It can definitely be a challenge to stay on top of things nutritionally during the busy softball season. I don't know about you, but I find our family relying on fast food and take out much more during season. Because eating healthy can be tough during season, I'm working on putting together a resource that answers the most frequently asked fastpitch nutrition questions AND gives you simple tips on how to improve your game with better nutrition. Soooo, if you have ANY questions about nutrition, please post a comment here so that I can cover them in the nutrition resource I'm working on.

I'll keep you posted on the progress of this new resource and will certainly tell you when it's ready. In the mean time, you may also want to check out Fastpitch Juicing which offers Simple Juicing Solutions for Busy Fastpitch Softball People. Enjoy your dinner!

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Grass?

After watching many games over the course of a couple of tournament weekends this summer, I saw something that interests and annoys me at the same time.

What is it?

Middle infielders who are afraid of the big bad grass behind them.

This just drives me bonkers. Some of them seem to have an aversion for going after bloopers that take them away from the safety of the infield dirt onto that plush green outfield grass. Being a middle infielder myself, I just don't understand why some of them don't want to just go after any ball they can get.

Seeing this issue brings a couple of things to mind:

This IS something that needs to be worked on in practice: even infielders need to practice tracking fly balls and pop ups.

Setting up priorities really helps: making it clear whose ball it is when both the infielder and the outfielder are going for it would help when this situation is cause because the infielder doesn't want to run in to the outfielder. The infielders need to have confidence that that ball IS there's unless they hear the outfielder call them off. The outfielder needs to know that when they call for the ball, the infielder WILL back off and give them free reign to charge that ball hard. This also is something that needs to be practiced in practice so that it works during a live situation.

The ones that do it right are so much more impressive: the simple ability for middle infielders to go after any ball and even make a catch deep into the outfield grass makes them look sooooooo much more impressive than the ones that look completely unsure of themselves once they have to take a few steps back. Working on this simple skill can make you, as a middle infielder, look so much better at your position. So if this is something you're weak at, it's a simple area to improve upon. If it's not, keep going after that ball and catching everything you can!

Why Jump Ahead?

Now that summer softball season has begun here in Hawaii, I'm having a chance to see some coaches work with a new bunch of players. They are working with teams who added a bunch of players as older ones moved up, or they are working with entirely new teams who are in their first season together.

One thing I noticed is the tendency for coaches to want to "jump ahead" because games are right around the corner. For me, with a new team especially, some of the things I want the girls to know before the first game are how to field a ball, how to catch a ball, and how to throw a ball. After that, basic infield/outfield coverages, maybe bunt coverage, and how to relay the ball in from the outfield. On the offensive side, we'll probably just go over how to do a sacrifice bunt and go over just a few signals (probably take one, sacrifice, and steal). That's IT unless the girls are ready for more. Obviously I'm talking about younger age groups here where you actually have to teach how to catch and how to set up a relay and such. But even for older girls on more advanced teams, I still would go over this stuff in the beginning to get a feel for where the girls are at.

When I talk about how to field, how to throw, and how to catch, I believe that these basic mechanics should be gone over with EVERYONE in EVERY season. Sometimes you need to spend more time on it, other time the girls are doing things great and you can move on faster, but I still think it should be covered with the team as a whole.

Even with infield/outfield coverages or plays (i.e. where to throw the ball and who covers what base and when) I like to run the whole team through drills/exercises that cover these concepts. For example, I'll often have everyone take and outfield position and have them field/catch fly balls and throw to second, throw to third, and throw home. You never know who you'll need to play outfield and any given time and by putting everyone out there, you at least know you've given every person on your team some practice out there. A great infielder that never practices fly balls can do just horribly in the outfield if they ever have to play out there. This is part of why I like everyone to get some time out there every now and then. Plus it can help infielders get more comfortable tracking, and hopefully catching, those annoying bloopers that try to drop just over the infield.

When teaching relays, I always like to start out with simply setting up lines of girls and teaching them:

• which way to turn after the catch
• how to get rid of the ball quickly
• how to position their bodies before and after the throw/catch etc.

Then take it to the field and cover who is the cover for which plays before ever putting people into positions and hitting balls out for relay practice.

I think you get the idea of what I'm trying to say. I really believe it's much fairer to your players and much more effective to TEACH what you expect before just throwing the girls into the situation and trying to teach as you go.

I've seen coaches just put players in position, hit a ball outfield and tell the girls to "set up the relay." Half the time, I don't even know if the girls knew what that meant because they had never even done a relay before (this is at the 8U/10U level). Then while the ball is in the outfield they are telling the short stop, "You're the cut." I swear the girl was thinking, "What's a cut?" Because as I said, they had never practiced a relay, been taught a relay (what it is, how it's set up), nor did the coach ever go over who is the cuts are for the different outfield plays. This is what I'm talking about when I say coaches are "jumping ahead." All of that should have been introduced to the players before ever setting up a defense, hitting a ball past the outfielder, and asking the players to relay the ball home.

I understand the need and desire to practice these sorts of things before the first game comes around, but trying to teach it as you go just doesn't work as well. You still need to take the time to explain to each person what they are supposed to be doing. It's so much easier if you go over it first, explain and show the girls what's supposed to happen, let them try it AND THEN take it onto the field in a more "live" setting to practice the concept instead of jumping straight to the "live" situation and then stopping your practice each play to try to explain individually to each player what they are supposed to be doing